I shall not, I shall not be moved,
I shall not, I shall not be be moved,
Just like a tree planted by the water,
I shall not be moved
I’m on my way to heaven,
On my way to heaven,
Just like a tree planted by
the water,
I shall not be moved.
A little diddy from John
Hurt...
Our text said blessed are
those – Some translations say happy are those – Content is actual more true to
the Hebrew meaning. Contented are those
– who delight themselves in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and
night.
They are like trees, planted
by streams of water which yield their fruit in season, their leaves do not
wither. In all they do, they
prosper.
Yesterday we cut down trees
that broke under the pressure of the storm.
Trees that were bearing their fruit in season. Trees bearing beautiful, bright yellow, fiery
orange, dripping red leaves.
I imagine there were even
apple trees somewhere in the northeast - bearing their fruit in season – They
were doing everything right and then… a random, dare we say "out of season”
snow storm drops flake after flake on all of those leaves and they broke under
the weight of the storm
I've been horrified by the
pruning process of mother nature this week.
Is that the law of the Lord? A
storm out of season? The reality that
life is outside of our control. Well, if
that's not the law of the Lord, it's certainly a good place to start.
And we’re to be content with
that. Hard to imagine delighting
ourselves in such an experience like breaking under the weight of a storm.
This image of a tree in the
first chapter of the Psalms is a unifying image – it is a grand metaphor for
life.
The psalms are song lyrics
passed down from generation to generation that captured the range of emotions
found while people wrestled in relationship with God.
The psalms contain every
emotion known to humankind. Anger,
despair, delight, hope, fear, love, hate... you name it, it's in there.
This first psalm sets the
tone for the entire book – it also gives a rather black and white choice.
Either we follow the advice
of the wicked or we delight in the law of the Lord. Uh… I choose option B.
And then it says – those who
choose option B are like trees planted…
So, let's take a journey with
this tree – a tree planted perhaps
planted by another tree – an acorn here or there, a pine cone, or a seed
carried along the wind.
It's planted by moving water
– the rise and fall of the tide - reaching its roots deep into the soil. Finding its nourishment as needed.
This tree is not only planted
by streams of water but it yields its fruit in season. Takes the raw nutrients of water, soil and
sun and transforms it into roots and branches and leaves. Its trunk grows thicker and stronger.
It yields its fruit not
early, not late – in season. And that
fruit of course is for the growth of something or someone else. Right, an acorn to make another tree or an
apple for anothers' meal.
Are you still following the
metaphor?
This tree is not only planted
by streams of water, it not only yields its fruit in season, but its leaves do
not wither. Have you ever watched leaves
before a rain storm?
They turn upside down in
expectation of the rainfall. Getting
ready for a drink – to keep from withering.
The psalms begin with this
rich, detailed, picturesque metaphor for life.
Content are those who are like this tree. Noting again that the lyrics speak to a
plural understanding of the world. The
Hebrew people would have no notion of an individual trying to do all of this on
their own. The tree is an image for the
community. They are like a tree, one
solid, strong tree.
And they are seeking to live
by streams of water.
And they are looking to yield
their fruit in season.
And they work to keep their
leaves from withering.
Contented then are they. Contentment is the mental or emotional
satisfaction with the way things are.
Contentment is assenting to or willing to accept circumstances. Contentment is peace of mind.
I shall not, I shall not be
moved
Just like a tree planted by
the water,
I shall not be moved.
But contentment is not
immovability. Right? Contentment is actually the realization that
movement is inevitable. Movement,
change, modification is a thing of life.
A tree is not immovable. Contented are those who like a tree – seek
nourishment, grow deep and wide, adjust to the surroundings, spread out and
produce fruit. There's nothing immovable
or stagnant about that. In fact, that's
a fairly active life.
This tree is as a wonderful
metaphor for spiritual growth.
That's our value for the
week. Two years ago, the elders embarked
on a self study of sorts – to determine what we value the most.
They did that through a
formal survey and in a series of informal conversations. They narrowed down those thoughts to 10
statements and then they tested them at a retreat last year. We are introducing them this fall.
We value spiritual
growth.
We know that physical growth
can be stunted – when it lacks the needed nourishment to flourish.
We’ve seen where emotional
growth can be stunted as well – unforgiveness, anger management, shame, and
nameless other things that make it difficult to get past something.
How about spiritual growth –
can we get stuck and how do we get unstuck?
For starters I suppose we
need to believe that we're not done yet.
Right? We're still becoming. The stewardship team wanted to capture that
truth with this year's campaign.
We’re still growing. And they don’t just mean outwardly in new
programs or missions or in members – they mean internally as well.
So like a tree – how do we
adjust to our surroundings? How do we
find a way to continue growing amidst life?
What if the water dries
up? Well, we dig a little deeper. What if we can’t sustain ourselves? Maybe a larger modification is needed, or
maybe a season has ended. Death is part
of the life cycle too.
What if the water rises and
floods us out of worse yet – causes us to mold or rot?
What do we do if a snowstorm
robs us of the fruit that we’ve grown?
How do we respond when things outside of our control break us in
half? How do we accept or embrace our
pruning?
This first psalm is about
ethics and lifestyle and choices. We
will make a thousand little decisions all the days of our lives. Those choices grow us spiritually.
We value spiritual growth –
we value the chance to take life as it comes, see life as raw material – as
sun, and soil and water – and transform it into fruit... Spiritual fruit like
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, compassion, self-control,
faith, hope.
This kind of fruit plants
more trees and feeds others.
The choices that we make –
the words that we speak – the actions of our hands and feet are our lived
choices. As a community of faith – we
value making choices that grow us spiritually.
How do we know we're growing
– Contented are those...